The present invention relates to user interfaces and in particular to graphical user interfaces (GUI""s).
GUI""s are now a common part of many items of electrical and electronic equipment and enable a user to interface with the equipment by entering data by pressing keys or buttons so as to select items of data to be entered from a displayed menu.
One simple example of an item which can frequently include a GUI is the digital watch. With the advent of extremely cheap and small microprocessors and memories it has become a frequent practice to provide digital watches with more and more functions. These can include giving alarms, storing telephone numbers and addresses and also carrying out quite sophisticated calculations. It will be appreciated that a wrist watch is relatively small so that any way in which data can be entered into the watch in a simple manner and with a very compact interface will be advantageous. It will also be appreciated that there are many other comparable situations where data has to be entered via a physical interface which is as small or as simple as possible.
One conventional approach for entering data is to use a two button GUI in association with a display screen. With such an arrangement it is common for one button to be used to scroll through a menu displayed on the display screen with the other button being used to select items from the menu.
However, this arrangement has problems. For example, if by pressing the first button too many times, the user misses the wanted item, then the user has to carry on through the menu in the hope that it will wrap around to reach the wanted item again. The known arrangement has further problems in that it lacks flexibility.
The present invention is concerned with providing a solution to this problem.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided an interface for inputting data comprising two manually operable direction buttons, and microprocessor means for outputting signals generating a visual display comprising a menu, the microprocessor means in response to operation of the buttons enabling a user to make selections from the menu and to cause relative movement between the menu and a cursor, and wherein the microprocessor responds to the intermittent pressure of a single button to step the cursor relative to the menu in a first direction or a second direction in dependence upon the button depressed.